Looking for the Hero
by xoxmitchiexox
Summary: Link is sent back to live the years he lost. After seven long years, Zelda and Sheik set out to find Link again. Sheik wants nothing more than to win over the heart of the Hero. . . but so does Zelda. And Sheik has never had more doubts. Rated T just in case.
1. Musings on a Child's Mind

Can you imagine your whole existence depending on one person?

That one person was my everything. The very reason that I existed. Sure, as a Sheikah, I was bound to the Royal Family, to serve as Princess Zelda's guard when I grew old enough at her own request. I, however, held no suspicions as to why. It was an average thing to be requested of.

The outside world was convinced, and had been, for quite some time, that our race was dying out. It was completely untrue. We lived in secrecy, in the shadows, the way we preferred it. I was raised by my aunt, Impa, nursemaid to Zelda, until I was about eleven, when she left for these very duties. Upon request, Impa brought Zelda to the village, and when the princess met me, she decided that I would one day be her guard.

I, of course, did not take this very seriously. Her words held true, however, and three years later, when I was deemed strong enough, mentally and physically, I was sent to the princess.

Princess Zelda, however, is not the one whom I live my life for.

When I was eighteen, he awoke. The Hero of Time. While he had slept, the world began to fall apart. When he woke, the pieces began to fall back into place.

For the seven years that the Hero was dormant, the Princess hid herself in the secret Sheikah village. We had grown to be close friends, almost like siblings, and we formed a plan.

I would never allow her to go into the dangerous world until I knew it was safe. She knew this as well as I. She knew, as well, however, that a role had to be filled. The Hero would need a guide, and possibly, a watch, to ensure that he reached his every destination, and did so safely. So, I volunteered to be that guide. As soon as Zelda was needed, we would switch places, ensure the hero that it had, all along, been the princess.

I had miscalculated one thing. Missed a small little detail. Something I never could have foreseen when I made these promises to Zelda, my beloved friend.

I fell for the Hero.

Granted, this made my job of watching over him much less boring. It did, however, make it significantly more painful. I longed to reveal myself to him when I need not. To stay when my job was done. To be by his side as he slept. To take away his pain and suffering.

I owed my very existence to this boy. It was fate that I be his guide, and were he not to exist, I was certain I would not, either. I had encountered death so nearly so many times, surely this was not a job truly destined for the princess.

It was strange, to say the least. I had never expressed interest in either sex, always swearing off love because I felt, as a Sheikah and guard of the Princess of Hyrule, I had more important duties to worry about. That, and I felt nothing. No person ever attracted my attention. No matter how perfect the personality, no matter how striking the beauty. No male or female ever caught my eye.

When Zelda and I began to mature to the age where young people often began to steal glances at one another, she began making giggling remarks about girls looking my way. I never saw them. In fact, I never even looked. I would simply give Zelda a curious look and ask why. She would stare blankly at me, confused at the question.

After about a year of this, she finally grew tired of my ignorance.

"Because they think you're handsome, numbskull! Goddesses, _I_ would think you were handsome if I didn't find the idea utterly repulsive!" she yelled at me. I blinked. Repulsive? I felt like the remark should hurt, but it confused me. She then made a face, realizing how it sounded. "Well, I mean. . . obviously, you're _not_ repulsive, but I just couldn't imagine being attracted to you. You're my best friend."

I simply continued to stare at her. She stared back, probably because she expected me to say something. She obviously didn't expect what I _did_ say, though.

"Why would they stare at me because they find me attractive?"

The comment and my complete ignorance to all typical courtship procedures earned me a nice smack in the head. If she hadn't been so little, I might have yelled and asked what that was for. She was, however, a bit weak, so I merely grinned, and she, unable to resist, laughed and called me a numbskull again.

When I first saw the Hero, who was still reveling in his new form, I felt a flutter in my chest. His childlike curiosity made me smile behind my cowl before springing a twinge of sorrow. This boy had lost seven years of his life for a great destiny he never asked for. He would be forced, now, to grow up, and quickly, and defeat a great evil he had never before known. All while still being a ten-year-old on the inside, his only companion a fairy that did not really even belong to him.

Of course, I fought my feelings. At first, it was subconscious. I found myself smiling affectionately at him from a distance when he did something ridiculous, then I would roll my eyes, trying to play it off to myself as nothing. Then, intrusive thoughts began. _He is rather handsome_. . . I would think. _He will probably have the attention of all sorts of suitors, once he's saved Hyrule_. Which, of course, I had no doubt he would succeed in. Then, I would blink confusedly at my thoughts. Why did his looks matter, if he was to be a great hero? One need not be attractive to save their realm.

Finally, I realized my feelings and began arguing vehemently with myself about them. I had been watching him from afar, once again, smiling idly as I watched him have a playful argument with his fairy companion. I watched a smile grace his lips, and my mind wandered into territories I did not know. _I wonder what it would be like to-_ my eyes widened. I hadn't been about to think that. . . had I? Had I just been wondering what it'd be like to. . . to _kiss_ the Hero?

I noticed that I did not feel revulsion at the thought, which frightened me. I closed my eyes to shake the feelings, but all I could see was the Hero before me, raising a hand to place it gently on my cheek, scratchy from callused and overworked hands, a childlike innocence in his wide, clear, blue eyes, but with a slight impish mischievousness.

When I opened my eyes again, the Hero was curling up to sleep. After keeping watch for a while, I began to doze, tired from a long day of travel, and the only thing keeping me even mildly alert was the cold. My subconscious reminded me a source of warmth and tender affection was just a small distance away, but I shook my head, as though that would clear it of the bothersome thoughts.

After I realized I couldn't stop said thoughts, they came full force, exaggerating every detail I was growing to love about the Hero, reminding me every time I reached for a deku nut that the Hero would reach for me as I blinded him and fled.

Oh, how I longed to reach back. Throw the damned nut away and allow the green-clad boy to reach for me.

I grew to hate a part of myself for thinking corrupt thoughts of someone who, though very much a man on the outside, was still even more a child on the inside. I resisted my every urge, fought my every cursed thought, until the very end.

When the end was nigh, I sensed it. Knew that soon, the Hero would end his journey and move on to a new life, one that would not include me, the simple guardian. It was then, mere hours before his final battle, that I spoke with Zelda of what he had planned long ago.

"It's almost over, Sheik. You will confess to him who you. . . _are_, and then, I shall join him in battle," the princess told me, and I nodded solemnly, eyes to the floor. "Then, once the battle has ended, I will send him back," she added, and I looked at her with wide, questioning eyes, and she blinked, confused at my sudden change in demeanor. "He deserves a chance to be a child, Sheik," she reminded me, though I already knew well enough. When I said nothing, she studied me.

"You love him."

It was not a question. It did not need to be. She knew as well as I did. I refused to meet her eyes, and I heard her sigh - a painful, drawn-out exhale, and finally, I looked at her, only to find she had now decided on the floor as her newest interest.

"As do you." She looked at me, and I knew I was correct. "I. . . did not tell anyone. I was ashamed to love someone who was still a child. . . I feel as though. . . it destroys his innocence, somehow. It is not. . . why I did not tell you. I think. . . I always knew you would love him. I knew that, were fate to work in favor of either of us. . . he would choose you. . . so why allow myself the fantasy of. . . of. . ." I sighed, and Zelda, my closest friend, my only confident, put her hand gently on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes.

"He will grow up, Sheik. He will have a normal childhood, and whatever comes to pass shall," she said, and I gave her a small smile. My eyebrows knit together as I thought of something.

"Will he. . . remember anything?" I asked, and she frowned.

"I'm unsure. I suppose that is up to the goddesses. . . allow him to know his past greatness while the world, save for few, do not? Or allow him forget it all, blissfully unaware of his trials and the pain he has faced? No. . . I'm unsure. We shall see, I suppose," Zelda said, and both ideas filled me with fear. I did not wish him to grow and feel alienated, one of only a select group - who I imagined included Zelda and I - to remember what he endured. I did not wish him to forget me, either, though. The very thought dropped dead weight into my abdomen, filling me with dread.

I knew that, while she said that he was getting another chance at a normal life, I knew it was true for all of us. We would all be sent back seven years to relieve them, though, if all went as planned, much more peacefully, this time.

Eventually, I knew I had to accept that, whatever happened to the Hero, I could not help to influence it. So, we carried out the plan.

I met with the Hero in the Temple of Time, knowing painfully that it would be the last. I began my speech, ingrained in my head from all the nights I had spent awake, fearing nearby monsters for the Hero's sake, and therefore kept myself awake with trying to memorize and make believable what the princess wished me to say.

I raised my left hand, and I felt the switch about to take place. I looked into the Hero's eyes one last time, and everything came crashing down. I closed my eyes to stop the tears, and when I opened them, I was no longer in the temple. I was alone in Hyrule Field, out of the Hero's and Zelda's way when they would leave.

I fell to my knees, sobs racking my body. Strangely, I did not fear that the Hero would not escape the battle alive. I had watched him enough, knew him well enough to know that he would endure. My fears were all of his emotional state and mentality. I feared that I would lose what I never had - that he would awake seven years previous and never know who I was.

So, next to the mote, I cried. On all fours, exposed to any enemy who wished to harm me, tears splashing onto the grass and the backs of my hands, I wept. Sheikah pride and training aside, I wept profusely, uncaring to the world and what it might think of me.

Suddenly, I felt all the regret. Though he was young of mind, he surely would have understood. I could not tell him anything, I knew, because he had a journey to be made. But now, as soon as that journey ended, he would be sent back, possibly to forget every moment that we had ever shared.

It was then that I promised myself. . . promised him. . . that I would go and find him, one day. When his mind caught up with the rest of him. I would find him and tell him everything. If he rejected me, so be it. If he scorned me, I would live my life alone, just as I had always planned. I couldn't even consider him accepting me. It gave me hope I felt was beyond being simply false: it was a blissful lie that would break me in the end, if I allowed myself to believe it.

All that mattered to me was that, when the boy grew old enough to understand, I had to tell him. The idea flitted through my head once more - _what if he didn't remember?_ My worst fear. I knew I could not tell him, then, for he would never believe a word. So, I realized, it would come to this, and I refused to accept otherwise: If the Hero remembered his journey, I would tell him. I would tell him everything I had ever felt, and walk away, knowing he deserved to know and that I deserved to be able to at least get the burden off my chest. If the Hero forgot the events that took place, however, and forgot that I had ever existed. . . I would leave him with no more than a passing memory to look back on. He would never know who I truly was. Even if the simple idea of it broke my heart.

Wiping my tears, I sat on the grass and closed my eyes, accepting this fate. I would have to wait another seven long years for this Hero. Before, it had been for safety. Now, it was for closure. And strangely, I knew that he was worth it. I would endure those long years simply because I knew he waited at the end of them.

I stood, somehow knowing that the time had come. I closed my eyes and awaited the day that I would see my Hero again.

**I needed to write something like this. I'm not sure why, but it was calling me. Sooo, I did. Let me know what you think, good or bad. I'm kind of new at the whole Zelda fanfiction thing, so let me know if this is a total abomination or not. =P**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xoxmitchiexox**


	2. Looking for the Hero

**I own nothing. Obviously. **

**So, I made a mistake. A big THANK YOU to HelKat for pointing it out. That first part was "Musings," this chapter is what I MEANT to put as this story. Soo. . . sorry for any inconvenience and confusion. HERE is "Looking for the Hero." Enjoy.**

On the day that the entirety of my happiness depended on, the sun rose in diluted pastel colors. I tried not to take it as an omen.

I could still remember our first day in the past clearly, as though it hadn't been seven years previous. I had opened my eyes to a vibrant sunrise, a new dawn, a hopeful beginning where the future wasn't bleak. Our new beginning had begun with the boldest sunrise I'd ever seen. And now, the day that I would seek him out, the sun seemed as though it would rather give the moon a couple more hours.

I, meanwhile, was sure I was keel over from a panic attack. I had seven years to prepare myself for the moment that I would find him. Seven years, and one would think I would be ready for it. But, of course, I was not.

Zelda and I had planned, from the very beginning, that we would give him his seven years. The Hero of Time would live without a single interference from us.

Now, the years had ended. Today was finally the day that we would look for that Hero, the one who owned both our hearts, and find out whose side fate was on, if any at all. Close friends as we were, Zelda and I had also made a pact that, no matter what happened, we would try our hardest to handle the situation well, win or lose. I always hated phrasing it like that, as though the Hero was a contest, but it was truly what it was. I wanted to win his heart.

"Seven years later, and the day we've been waiting for starts out as average as they come."

I simply continued to stare at the bleak skyline as the Princess of Hyrule joined me. She had a perfect tendency to voice my most inner thoughts. Save for a couple of traits, we could very well be the same person, upon short glances. The Hero certainly had no hard time believing it.

I cast my eyes to the grounds below. The Hero had believed it with no trouble at all. He hadn't seemed heartbroken in the slightest. Until the princess had been kidnaped. . . .

I sighed and fought back the thoughts that had plagued and waged war against me for as long as I could remember. In the corner of my eyes, I saw Zelda looked at me, giving me a reassuring smile. Despite our fighting for the same thing, she still wanted me to know I had a chance. I admired how selfless she was, but it only made it harder to consider it all. If some other girl in the world had already won the Hero's heart, I would have no problem with selfishly hating her. With Zelda, I could never hate her, even if she stole what I so desperately needed.

Zelda reached out and took my hand, eyes turning back to the sunset. My thoughts were on the moments that had led up to this one.

Seven years previous, time had begun to repeat itself, and only those who had a hand in changing the past knew of what had happened. Link, newly young again, had stumbled, dazed, up to the young princess and told her everything. She brought him to her father, the king, who quickly put an end to all of Ganondorf's desires.

That was the last time the Hero was seen. He left, looking confused and conflicted, taking both mine and the princess's hearts with him. Zelda quickly retrieved me from the Sheikah village, told me all that had happened since I last saw her, seven years in the future, and I was made to live in the castle as her future guard, as soon as I was of age.

I looked to the princess for the first time that morning. Where we were very similar, every difference between us was obvious to me. Her eyes, clear blue and bright with anticipation, were on the sunrise. I envied those eyes. The Hero would look upon them and see a place of calm, be reminded of the streams of his home. Were he to look upon mine, all he would find was the color of anger. Zelda's pale skin was flawless, smooth, touchable. My own was darker, rough, scarred in some places from training.

I had noticed on more than one occasion how small Zelda was. She was slender, but not unattractively so, as she was also small in height. She was the perfect size for the Hero to swoop into his arms, hold close, his chin on top of her head. I may have been short for a male, but it was not in a precious way, as the princess. I was short in stature and slim in physique, but I was not a girl, and therefore, my body was unattractive as such.

Of course, it didn't matter. If I did not have the Hero's heart, then I wanted none at all.

Finally, I could stand it no longer. I had to end the thoughts, once and for all.

"It's time," I said. Zelda looked at me and beamed, and, hand in hand, we left the balcony that sat outside my room.

Zelda and I both donned cloaks before heading off to retrieve our horses. Beneath the cloaks, we wore the very same clothes that we had greeted the Hero with, in another life, as to extinguish any possible confusion. If the Hero remembered, he would recognize us in a heartbeat. If not. . . .

I mentally scolded myself. I had to stop thinking, soon, or I would lose my mind before I even saw him.

As we began to ride across Hyrule field, the sun was clearing the mountains. I tried to keep my mind on anything but who we were off to find, letting Zelda take the lead toward Kakariko. We knew the Hero could not, after all, still live in Kokiri Forest. After the fairy guide left him, he would surely not have seen fit to remain there much longer.

We had lived relatively normal lives, though they had seemed to stretch endlessly. Those years were for the Hero, but we still had to live through them, conscious that we'd already lived them before. I should have been twenty six, by then. I should have been married with a child, though I doubted I would have been. Even when my heart hadn't been stolen by a boy in green, I was not one for people.

My sole friend for all those years had been Zelda. Unfailingly, we were always the ones the other went to as a confidant, no matter what the situation. I sometimes wondered, while hiding away in the castle, as if I didn't exist, if I was Zelda's only friend, as she was mine. I never asked, however, not wishing to drive her away.

We arrived in Kakariko fairly quickly, and Zelda set right in to asking everyone she saw if the boy in green lived there. The answer was always the same: No.

Frustrated, we were about to leave town when an elderly man stopped us. I hadn't seen him on the way in, but he seemed to exude wisdom. He wore a dark blue robe and had a long, white beard and a hunched back.

"I overheard you talking about a boy in green, and I believe I know who you are looking for," the old man said, and Zelda grinned to me.

"You do?" she asked, suddenly excited. The man nodded.

"He goes to Castle Town once a week to get my groceries for me," the man said. "I believe he does odd-end jobs here and there, however, so he may be difficult to track down. Although, if you don't need him right this moment, he stops by every Sunday evening with my groceries." Zelda sighed in relief. I suppose a part of her feared the worst, though I don't know how. The Hero had more than proven that he could fend for himself.

"Thank you very much, sir. If we can't find him, we'll be sure to stop by," Zelda said, smiling to the man, who nodded, smiling back, before walking away. Zelda looked at me, raising her eyebrows. "Looks like we'd better keep searching."

As we set off from Kakariko and started toward Lon Lon Ranch, the sun climbed to the middle of the sky. Halfway there, we stopped and brought out the lunch that we packed before we left the castle and tried to enjoy a lunch break before getting back on our horses and continuing onward.

We finally arrived at the ranch, and Zelda went straight through the buildings to the corral area. She stopped her horse next to a red-haired girl, who stopped singing and beamed up to us.

"How can I help you all, today?" the girl asked, and Zelda glanced at me.

"We wanted to know. . . if a boy might live here, or passed through?" Zelda asked, and the girl furrowed her eyebrows. "He wore green, though I'm not sure that he still does. . ." she added slowly. The girl's eyes lit up.

"Oh! You must mean Link! Yes, he helps out here, once in a while, with deliveries and such. . ." the girl said, and Zelda's face brightened.

"Yes! Is he here?" Zelda asked, and her eyes wandered toward the building in the corner of the corral, as if hopeful this girl was hiding Link in there. The girl, however, frowned.

"Nah, he isn't here, today. I haven't seen him in a couple of days, actually," the girl said, suddenly looking thoughtful. Zelda frowned.

"Well, do you know where he might be?" the princess asked, and the girl shrugged.

"He likes to do a few different things. . . sometimes he just goes riding. . . fishing. . . helps others with some work. . . it depends on the day, really," the girl said, and Zelda sighed, then gave a small smile.

"Okay. . . well, thank you for your help," Zelda said, and the girl grinned again.

"No problem!" she said cheerfully, and we set off again.

"So, he could be anywhere," Zelda said as we rode slowly across the field. She sighed, and I shrugged.

"Well, if he's just riding around, we're never gonna find him, so let's just go try the fishing hole," I suggested, and Zelda nodded, leading the way toward Lake Hylia. I glanced up and sighed, noticing the sky was beginning to become overcast.

We rode up to Lake Hylia and looked around. Zelda pointed to the sign for the fishing hole and we dismounted our horses. I opened the door and Zelda took the lead once again.

"Welcome to the Fishing Hole," a voice drawled, and I looked over to a bored-looking man behind a counter. "How can I help you?" I felt a tug on my tabard and looked at Zelda.

The princess was staring at the pond. I followed her gaze and my heart leapt.

A fish wriggled, dragged by a thin line across the surface of the water. The owner of the fishing pole picked up the fish once it was close enough and smirked at it before unhooking it and placing it lovingly back.

"Link. . ." Zelda whispered.

The Hero turned and looked at us. He hesitated, then smiled us. But I saw something else. The hesitation. . . something was there.

"Hullo," Link said, and I saw Zelda blinked dazedly. I looked at the boy before us and quickly became aware of how much my heart was pounding. I could hear it, feel is shaking my entire body. I tried to take a deep breath.

"Her- Link," I said, clearing my throat. He raised my eyebrows, surprised I knew his name. "We ah. . . we would really like to speak to you. . . in private," I said slowly, trying not to glance at the man behind the counter. Link smiled and gave a short nod. I pulled Zelda by her sleeve out the door, Link following behind us.

"Sheik. . ." Zelda said quietly. I looked at her, and she smiled, though she looked like she was about to cry.

"I know, Zelda," I said, putting my arm about her shoulders to give her a squeeze.

Once we were far enough away from the door, I stopped. I looked out to the little island where I had once met him and sighed. Zelda nodded to me. It was time. We turned to the Hero.

He watched us both carefully, and I reached up and undid the fastening of my cloak. I glanced to Zelda, and we both removed the cloaks, then looked to Link. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking away. I began to wonder where to start, but it turned out that there was no need.

"I. . . had a dream, once. . . not too long ago. . . about you. . . or someone who looked like you. . ." Link said slowly, still refusing to look at us. I felt my heart dropping. A dream. That's why he recognized us. It wasn't because he remembered. "It felt so. . . real. . . so familiar. . . that when I heard your voice. . . and turned and saw you. . . it was as if I've been waiting for you to come and find me for years."

He turned and looked at Zelda, and it was my turn to look away. Of either he could have addressed, he had chosen her.

"You had. . . told me something, and I was upset. . . I don't even remember what it was. . . but I was. . . hurt. . . and confused. I felt like something had changed, and like I wanted to go back to before," Link sighed and I furrowed his eyebrows. Was this after he had been sent back? Had he not wanted to go back and relive his childhood?

Zelda looked at the ground, then to me, and Link's eyes followed her gaze. He took a step back, and when I looked at him, his eyes widened.

"_It was you_," he whispered, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "You were. . . the change. .. I remember, now. Your eyes. . . I never understood it. . . ."

I stared at him, my out hanging open slightly, confused. What did he mean, I was the change? That he didn't understand my eyes? I mean, sure, they weren't normal, but. . . .

"_Sheik_."

I froze. It had been nearly inaudible - a word on the breath of the wind - but I heard it. I looked at him, his eyes tightly shut, as though fending off a headache.

"Sheik," he said again, louder this time, opening his eyes - those bright blue eyes that had haunted my dreams for over seven years - to look at me. "That was your name. . . but. . . it was only a dream. . ." he furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused again.

"Link. . . that's what we came to tell you. . . it wasn't a dream. You. . . you saved Hyrule. We. . . wanted to let you live a normal childhood," Zelda said slowly. Link blinked and slowly looked at her.

"I- I saved. . . no, I was just a kid, I couldn't have-" Link stumbled over his words.

"When you were ten, you went to the Temple of Time and pulled the Master Sword from it's pedestal. You were then locked away in the spirit realm for seven years, until you were old enough to be the Hero chosen by the Goddesses, and the land began to fall into ruin. When you woke, you did all the tasks required and defeated Ganondorf, who wished to take over all of Hyrule," Zelda explained, and Link just stared at her. "Then, I sent you back seven years, to your own time, so that you could both prevent Ganondorf's rise and live your childhood. I guess the Goddesses preferred to have you live in ignorance until you were ready to accept it. . ." she trailed off.

There was a pause. Link looked at the ground, his eyebrows knit together, trying to put all the pieces together. Suddenly, his eyes widened and darted to me.

"You. . . but you. . . you aren't real," he said slowly, sounding absolutely startled. "That was my dream!" His eyes widened more and looked at Zelda. "You were just her alter-ego! You were the same person the whole time!" His eyes clenched shut, and he seemed to be growing more and more frustrated. I sighed.

"When Zelda told me that she needed to guide you when you woke, I refused to let her be in the way of danger. She remained with my people and I took her place. I taught you what you needed to know and guided you through the temples. Before your fight with Ganondorf, Zelda and I switched places and pretended that we had always been the same person. She was taken, and you fought Ganondorf and saved her, and she helped you to defeat him," I explained and Link stared at me.

It was suddenly very silent. My eyes remained even with Link's, and I could see something calculating behind his eyes, his expression hard. Then, it was replaced by something else before he looked back to the ground, his face softening. He started to speak again, his voice soft.

"Your eyes. . . I- I wanted to go back to before. . . when you. . . when you were real. . ." He closed his eyes. "You. . . helped me so much. . . and when you suddenly never really existed. . . I felt hurt. . . and betrayed. . . like everything you'd done was a lie. . ."

I looked at Zelda and she looked back at me. Neither of us quite understood where this was going, and it was obvious. Link cleared his throat awkwardly and we looked at him.

"I think that. . ." Link started, but broke off, blushing. I furrowed my eyebrows, but he seemed to not want to say it. He looked up. "I'm glad you guys came and found me, though. Really, I. . . I think I've been. . . lost. I didn't know what to do with myself. I feel like I've been living in a dream," he said and sighed. Zelda gave a small smile.

"Well, we're here, now. We know everything you've gone through. You don't have to be alone, any more," she said, and I nodded. Link smiled gratefully, and Zelda looked at me, her eyes narrowing with thought before she smiled to me. "Actually. . . why don't you come stay at the castle, for a while? We can help you understand better, if you want. . ." she said slowly, and Link grinned.

"That sounds. . . nice," he said, and Zelda smiled. Link reached back into his pack and pulled out an instrument: a small, wooden ocarina. Zelda looked at me, and I smiled, shaking my head. Link played a short tune and his horse ran over from next to the nearby bridge. He patted her side gently and looked at us, smiling.

"Well. . . let's get going, then," Zelda said before mounting her horse. I got onto mine and Link climbed onto his, and we followed Zelda to Hyrule Field. I looked over to see Link watching me. He grinned and my heart melted.

Zelda's horse took off, trotting quickly toward Castle Town. Link remained next to me for a moment, looking at the back of his horse' head, then back to me.

"I'm. . . glad you exist, after all," Link said quietly, his eyebrows raising slightly, then nudged his horse, taking off after Zelda.

I watched him take off, blinking in the setting sun. I wasn't sure what it meant, but somehow. . . I was okay with it. It only meant that I would have time to figure it out, later.

I smiled and took off after the boy who stole my heart.

**Reviews are loved, especially when they point out what I need to work on. I've heard I'm unnecessarily long-winded, and I've tried working on it, but. . . meh.**

**xoxmitchiexox**


	3. Wishful Thinking

I looked over to the Hero of Time. His eyes were set on the dull sunrise, but I knew his mind was elsewhere. All I wanted was to know where.

Our legs dangled over the edge of the balcony outside my bedroom, and his hand laid open about a foot from my own. I wished I could just take it, tell him soothingly everything would be okay. But it wouldn't. It never would. He was trying to recover the past he'd lost, the feelings he'd had, and me taking his hand would only complicate things, especially since I wasn't simple, myself.

If only I'd been a girl - perhaps Zelda - then I could have taken his hand and breathed condolences to him and it wouldn't even be taken as any more than a girl being a sweet, caring girl. But I wasn't. Smooth apologies were Zelda's job. Mine was simply a bit of company. Nothing more.

The bright blue eyes of Hyrule's savior turned from the sun, onto my own. I gave a small smile before realizing my cowl covered it. Damn the thing, though it came in very handy whenever blush would creep into my face in the Hero's presence.

"Sheik. . . I've been thinking about something for a while. . ." Link started, his eyes trained almost unnaturally on my own. I nodded slowly, and he looked down, to his hand. He lifted it slowly, flexing it slightly. "It's. . . complicated. Not usual, I suppose, really. . . but. . . it's real." He looked back to me, as though he needed my assurance to continued on. I nodded slightly, my eyebrows contracting. He sighed.

"I. . . I can't tell you unless. . . unless I _know_ you won't react badly. . . you can't. . . throw me off the balcony or anything, okay?" Link asked, then looked at me with wide, bright eyes. I laughed slightly.

"I promise I won't throw you off the balcony," I said, and he gave a small smile that made my heart flutter._ Though I could think of somewhere else I'd like to throw you. . ._ a part of my mind purred, and I swallowed, trying to fight where my thoughts where going. Link obviously had something important to tell me, so now definitely wasn't the time for that kind of. . . images. "What is it?" I asked to prompt the conversation along.

Link looked down, suddenly seeming nervous, plucking his hat off his head, his blonde hair tumbling out, free of constraints. He fumbled with the hat, staring intently at it.

"Link?" I asked, and he bit his lip.

"Maybe. . . maybe it'd be better if I showed you," he said slowly, still looking at his hat. My eyebrows furrowed more.

"Showed me wha-"

I barely had time to register his face closing in on me before his lips crashed down on mine. I blinked in surprise, at first, before my eyes slid shut, just barely seeing Link's eyes clenched shut. He seemed to just be pressing his mouth against mine, but when I started to kiss back, his lips began to respond with vigor.

I slid my hand up to his face, caressing his cheek with my thumb, and I noticed for the first time that he was smiling. And so was I. My heart pounded fiercely, and a fire burned inside my chest.

My eyes snapped open. The room was dark, the sun hours away from rising. I began feeling as through someone had groped my heart and was now proceeding to squeeze the life from it. I clenched my eyes shut, a tear slipping out of the corner of one.

I was getting sick of these misleading dreams. They had plagued me for a month, since Link had moved into a room down the hall, getting my hopes up every other night before waking me to show me the cruel trick they had played. That here, in reality, those silly little dreams meant nothing, that Link was never going to catch me off guard with a kiss.

I rolled out of bed, fully intent on not falling asleep again. I slid on a pair of slippers and grabbed a cloak and scarf, wrapping them about me, planning to set out into the cool night where the dreams couldn't reach me.

I stepped out of my room and slipped down the hallway, heading for the stairs. I jogged up them and down another hall, my destination set in my mind. Another flight of stairs. Then another. Finally, I found Zelda's upstairs garden.

Years ago, Zelda had decided she was tired of having guards flocking her every time she went to take a peaceful walk in the courtyard. So, she had a garden built on top of part of the castle, where guards wouldn't have to accompany her.

I stepped out into the brisk night air, closed my eyes, and began taking deep breathes of it.

In insomnia, I felt solace.

**Shorter than the others, but hey. I want each one to have a completely different thing happening. Next one might be the last. Now. . . does Sheik get what he so desperately desires, or do I exercise my love of putting characters in misery and rip it away from him?**

**xoxmitchiexox**


End file.
